Mr. Speaker, during his visit to Ottawa yesterday, the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, clearly urged the Prime Minister to make climate change a priority during the upcoming G20 meeting. He also urged the government to comply with the Kyoto targets, not the more lenient Copenhagen targets.

If the Prime Minister is serious about getting a seat on the Security Council, will he heed the United Nations Secretary-General's request with respect to climate change?

Mr. Speaker, we have always been clear about this. The government's priority for the G20 summit is to talk about the economy and job creation. Our Bloc colleagues do not seem to understand those issues. They never talk about those issues because they do not consider them to be priorities. We respect the Copenhagen accord, which, for the first time, brings major emitters on board. Finally, there will be meaningful action, instead of all the empty talk we have had from them for the past 20 years.

Mr. Speaker, once again, Canada is moving forward and once again, those people are trying to sabotage progress. Their only goal is to separate Quebec from the rest of Canada. That is all there is to it. Sabotage, sabotage, sabotage. They are the ones who see the environment and the economy as two different things. We have always said that there are ways to achieve economic progress while reducing our environmental footprint. Strategic investments are being made, and for the first time, the Copenhagen accord will bring major emitters together. That is what I call action.

Traditionally, Canada has been in sync with the international community, just as a sovereign Quebec would be. I am thinking, for example, of our peacekeeping missions and our refusal to participate in the illegal war in Iraq. At the time, Canada sat on the Security Council. Today, with these conservative policies that are not in line with those of the international community, that is unthinkable.

Does the Prime Minister understand that we believe Canada does not deserve a seat on the Security Council, not because we are sovereignists, but because, with this government, Canada is not worthy of such a seat?

Mr. Speaker, Canada has an excellent reputation around the world. Canada plays a leadership role. I understand that my Bloc Québécois colleague has a short memory, but he need only take a look at the excellent work we have done with our partners in Haiti to help this country get back on its feet. These are people who tend to settle in Montreal. I am not sure how these Bloc opposition members do not know that.

Mr. Speaker, our question has to do with why UN members should trust a country that violates the Kyoto protocol and the Geneva conventions, that does not respect the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and that has yet to sign the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Does the Prime Minister understand that with a record like that, Canada, under this government, does not deserve a seat on the Security Council?

Mr. Speaker, I repeat, Canada plays an important role in the international community. We have deployed soldiers to Afghanistan, to essentially build peace in that country, and we have also deployed peacekeepers to several countries around the world.

I know that the Bloc Québécois has a hard time with that. I know the Bloc members are ashamed of all that, but I can assure them that the majority of parliamentarians support Canada.

Mr. Speaker, this week the government of the United States announced that the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service is going to be split into two agencies. Why is it doing that? It is because it understands that it cannot reconcile the objective of trying to maximize oil revenues from the role of implementing safety and environmental standards. It has that right, but the Conservatives are moving in the opposite direction.

We have to ask the question, why? Why are they turning over to the industry-friendly National Energy Board the job of environmental assessment? It makes no sense.

Mr. Speaker, I do not share the views of the leader of the New Democratic Party.

Just because it is done in the United States does not mean that we should do it here. Obviously, there were serious concerns with respect to what happened in the Gulf of Mexico. I think all Canadians who are watching the situation are rightly horrified.

I am very pleased, as I know all members of the House are, that the National Energy Board will be reviewing Canada's strong and effective regulations, in response to what happened in the United States, to ensure that we do the right thing for our environment, to ensure that we protect the environment for future generations.

The risk of an accident in Canada is real and the government is not taking the threat seriously. Canadians are worried and rightly so. Today, BP admitted that it did not know how to clean up the ice in the event of an oil spill in the Arctic.

What does the Conservative government intend to do in light of this admission by BP?

Mr. Speaker, what I can say to the leader of the New Democratic Party is that as we speak, there is no drilling going on in the Arctic. The Arctic is a very ecologically sensitive part of our great country. It is an important part of the world. Canada has a special responsibility to provide environmental leadership in this area. That is exactly the kind of leadership that the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Northern Development have been providing.

Just in this session of Parliament, we have expanded environmental protection in the north. We will continue to do that. We have an important responsibility to protect the Arctic and we will honour that commitment.

Mr. Speaker, the exploratory well drilling season starts in just a couple of weeks and we are not seeing action from the government.

On the other hand, U.S. lawmakers have said that the limits on corporate liability are not high enough. In fact, they are presenting proposals to take those limits as high as $10 billion. Guess what they are here in Canada? They are $10 million, a thousand times less.

The estimates for the cleanup in the gulf are running at $450 million and we all know it will end up higher, then there are the billions of dollars in damage to fishing and tourism.

Will the government at least realize that $10 million is not enough protection for Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, let me say a few things to the leader of the New Democratic Party. There are no permits to drill in the Arctic. Let me refresh the leader of the New Democratic Party of another fact. We have unlimited liability for oil companies with respect to pollution. Polluter pays, but that is not good enough. We have to have strong and effective regulations to ensure it does not happen.

That is why the NEB is doing additional reviews. That is why this government will always do what is best. That is why we will always protect the Arctic. It is incredibly important and we fully accept our responsibilities.

Mr. Speaker, it is the wrong choice to cut taxes for the largest and wealthiest corporations while the global economy remains fragile. It is the wrong choice to cut taxes for the largest and wealthiest corporations while a debt crisis rages in Europe. It is the wrong choice to cut taxes for the largest and wealthiest corporations when markets fluctuate at the drop of a hat.

Why does the government plan to borrow money and mortgage our children's future to pay for its reckless corporate tax cuts?